- Title
- An exploration of the perceptions of HIV and aids district coordinators regarding the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in the Eastern Cape
- Creator
- Zazini, Thabo William
- Subject
- Sex instruction -- Study and teaching -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects
- Subject
- Life skills -- Study and teaching
- Date Issued
- 2025-04
- Date
- 2025-04
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/71904
- Identifier
- vital:79150
- Description
- In 2015, the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) announced plans to pilot scripted lesson plans (SLPs) aligned with the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) component of the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum. This initiative aimed to address critical challenges such as learner dropout rates, the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), teenage pregnancy, and risky behaviours among learners in both primary and secondary schools. Despite being deemed successful by some individuals and organisations, using CSE in Africa faces many obstacles. The DBE in South Africa equipped district coordinators for HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to train LO teachers in their respective school districts. Despite being seen as beneficial overall, the use of CSE in Africa and other regions is not without difficulties. The HIV and AIDS district coordinators oversee the successful implementation of CSE lessons by LO teachers and train LO teachers in CSE using the recently created CSE scripted lesson plans (SLPs) from the DBE. However, district and provincial office officials' regular monitoring reports show that CSE courses have either not been implemented at all or only partially been implemented in public schools. It appears that HIV and AIDS district coordinators have not provided enough of the updated CSE curriculum to LO teachers during their training. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of HIV and AIDS district coordinators regarding the training and monitoring of the CSE programme implementation in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study employed exploratory research informed by the interpretivism paradigm and qualitative research methodology. The study used Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a theoretical foundation. Fifteen (15) HIV and AIDS district coordinators from Eastern Cape education districts in South Africa were included in the purposeful sample applied for this study. Data was gathered through open-ended questionnaires and subsequently analysed using thematic analysis. The thematic analysis was conducted according to Braun and Clarke's six-step framework (Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). The study's findings indicate that the HIV and AIDS district coordinators possess varying qualifications that are insufficient for effectively training LO teachers on CSE. The inadequate training of these coordinators has resulted in ineffective implementation of CSE. Furthermore, the district coordinators' cultural and personal beliefs, rooted in their diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, impact their approach to teaching and learning strategies. The study also found a lack of monitoring and support from the HIV and AIDS district coordinators. Additionally, the effectiveness of CSE implementation is hampered by differing perceptions of CSE among various stakeholders. The study recommends that HIV and AIDS district coordinators improve their qualifications through further education and professional development. They should pursue relevant academic and professional training in HIV and AIDS and LO to gain the skills and knowledge needed for effective training and coordination. The DBE and curriculum designers should consider the cultural and religious values of HIV and AIDS district coordinators for successful CSE implementation and equip them with effective CSE teaching and learning strategies. Regular monitoring and support should be conducted in districts, particularly in schools implementing CSE. In conclusion, the study emphasises the need for strengthening focused monitoring and supporting CSE implementation by HIV and AIDS district coordinators and provincial office officials. The DBE should also raise community awareness of CSE, targeting all key stakeholders to prevent conflicting messages.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, School of Education, Research and Engagement, 2025
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (437 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
NMU School for Education Research and Engagement
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | ZAZINI, T.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |